Several actors have played 007 over the years, with each performer bringing a different tone and style to the suave secret agent. Casino Royale's Daniel Craig remains the current Bond for at least one more movie, but some people are already looking ahead and wondering who will eventually inherit the role after Craig's final turn next year. Now, former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan has chimed in on the matter, and he thinks that Venom star Tom Hardy has the chops to take on the role. Brosnan explained:
Daniel Craig has been an incredible Bond. He's very physical, he looks lethal. You genuinely believe this is someone who could kill a man. He's complained about doing the part because he's put himself through a lot physically, but he will do the next movie, and then I think Tom Hardy could be a good Bond. I'd be happy to see him do it. You need an actor who can put a bit of wiggle into it -- that's what makes Bond.
Tom Hardy is an actor who has popped up in various fan conversations about a possible replacement for Daniel Craig once that actor says goodbye to the role. At 40 years old, the British actor is roughly the right age for the role and may still be by the time Bond 26 goes into development. He has the look for the part, and Pierce Brosnan seems to think that he has the right qualities to make a perfect Bond, James Bond.
Pierce Brosnan's remarks to Daily Mail about the physicality required for a modern James Bond also make quite a bit of sense when we examine Tom Hardy's body of work in recent years. Between his performances in movies like Warrior, The Dark Knight Rises, and Mad Max: Fury Road (among many others), Hardy has consistently shown his willingness to throw himself into the physical nature of his characters and transform his body. Dropped into a badass 007 action scene, it's not hard to imagine that Hardy could handle himself very well.
Just look at some of Tom Hardy's fight scenes from 2011's Warrior. He does not have any shortage of talent when it comes to physicality and the sense that he "could kill a man":
The idea of recasting James Bond is something that Pierce Brosnan has addressed several times in the years since he stepped down from the role after Die Another Day. He has also championed actors like The Dark Tower's Idris Elba and Arrow's Colin Salmon (who shared the screen with Brosnan during his era) at various points in time, but now he seems to have settled on Tom Hardy as the latest viable replacement for our current badass with a license to kill.
Only time will tell who the folks behind the James Bond franchise find to step into the iconic tuxedo when the time comes to recast the role and go in a new direction. Until then, however, Daniel Craig remains our Bond, and you can catch the actor in Bond 25 when the next installment in the series debuts in theaters next year on November 8, 2019. For now, check out our 2018 movie premiere guide to see what this year has in store on the big screen, and catch Pierce Brosnan in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again on July 20.
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